Sunday, November 30, 2008

Classic Rock Videos

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Album Cover Art

Let's continue our look at Gigwise.com's list of the top 50 dirtiest and sexiest album cover art, this time #23 (Gigwise comments in quotes):

23. Louis XIV: ‘The Best Little Secrets Are Kept’ – "They’re a chauvinistic band who treat women as sexual objects through their lyrics – ie “Pull your skirt up a little bit / Pull down your top and show me a little tit” – so it’s only natural that their 2005 featured a naked female behind. We reckon they’ll go full frontal for album number two."

For a hip, modern boy, Louis XIV's Jason Hill has plenty of old school rock star attitude. On his San Diego trio's debut album he declares himself a "weapon of mass destruction" and then backs it up with salacious come-ons meant to offend as they intrigue ("I know you want a strangle / Or a mouthful of gasoline / Or to be tied up and stoned"). Lyrical allusions to T. Rex and the Kinks tell only part of Louis XIV's actual musical journey. Hill may fancy Marc Bolan and Ray Davies as elegant dandies, and occasionally borrow their lightweight shuffles to great effect. However, his own proper terrain is the thorny inquisition of the Fall's Mark E. Smith. Here, his band throttles in kind, motoring a cantankerous rhythm section that's every bit as vicious as fellow modern day malcontents the Libertines or White Stripes. --Jaan Uhelszki (Amazon.com)

Wow, never heard of the band but this kind of review makes me want to see what they sound like....

The Beatles' White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute

Songs

Although most of the songs on any given Beatles album are usually credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team, that description is often misleading, and rarely more so than on The Beatles. With this album, each of the four band members began to showcase the range and depth of his individual songwriting talents, and to display styles that would be carried over to his eventual solo career. Indeed, some songs that the individual Beatles were working on during this period eventually were released on solo albums (John Lennon's "Look At Me" and "Child of Nature," eventually reworked as "Jealous Guy"; Paul McCartney's "Junk" and "Teddy Boy"; and George Harrison's "Not Guilty" and "Circles").

Many of the songs on the album display experimentation with unlikely musical genres, borrowing directly from such sources as 1930s dance-hall music (in "Honey Pie"), classical chamber music (in "Piggies"), the avant-garde sensibilities of Yoko Ono and John Cage (in "Revolution 9"), and the overproduced sentimentality of elevator music (in "Good Night"). Such diversity was quite unprecedented in global pop music in 1968, and the album's sprawling approach provoked (and continues to provoke) both praise and criticism from observers. "Revolution 9", in particular, a densely layered eight-minute-and-thirteen-second sound collage, has attracted bewilderment and disapproval from both fans and music critics over the years.

The only western instrument available to the group during their Indian visit was the acoustic guitar, and thus most of the songs on The Beatles were written and first performed on that instrument. Some of these songs remained acoustic on The Beatles (notably "Rocky Raccoon", "Julia", "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son") and were recorded in the studio either solo, or by only part of the group.

Individual compositions

Lennon's contributions to the album are generally more hard-edged lyrically than his previous output, a trend which carried over to his solo career. Examples include his pleas for death on "Yer Blues", his parodic "Glass Onion", which mocks fans who read too much into The Beatles' lyrics (see also Paul is dead), and what may be references to drug addiction in "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" ("I need a fix..."). Lennon's intensely personal "Julia" may be seen as foreshadowing his later song "Mother" from his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; the political "Revolution 1" begins a pattern of overtly political songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "John Sinclair"; "Revolution 9" reflects extensive contribution and influence from Yoko Ono, another feature of much of Lennon's solo output. Lennon's songs on The Beatles embrace a wide array of styles, including blues ("Yer Blues"), acoustic ballads ("Julia" and "Cry Baby Cry"), and rock ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"). Lennon would later describe his contributions to the White Album as among his favourite songs recorded with The Beatles.

McCartney's songs for the album include pop ballads ("I Will"), the proto-heavy metal "Helter Skelter", a Beach Boys homage ("Back in the U.S.S.R."), and a music-hall foxtrot ("Honey Pie") among others. The soothing, stripped-down "I Will" foreshadowed themes of McCartney's later solo career.

Harrison's sparse ballad "Long, Long, Long" is stylistically quite similar to much of his solo output. His songs on The Beatles also includes the lyrically sophisticated "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", a chronicle of gastronomic excess and dental trauma in "Savoy Truffle", the up-beat "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" ( in actuality a McCartney composition) and a class-driven piece of social commentary in "Piggies". Even Ringo Starr was given leave to include the first song composed entirely by himself on a Beatles' album, the country-ish "Don't Pass Me By".

The album is the first by the group not to feature any genuine Lennon-McCartney collaborations - in fact there would only be one more co-write from the pair in the remainder of the band's career ("I've Got a Feeling" from the Let It Be album). This new lack of co-operation and focus is reflected in several fragmental, incomplete song ideas that were recorded and released on the album ("Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", "Wild Honey Pie", and an officially untitled McCartney snippet at the end of "Cry Baby Cry" often referred to as "Can You Take Me Back"). On previous albums, such undertakings might have been either abandoned or collaboratively developed before release, but here again, The Beatles represented a change of course for the band. The trend continued for the rest of the band's recording career: such song fragments were presented by joining them together as a long suite of songs on side two of Abbey Road.


Self-reflection and change

Many of the songs are personal and self-referencing; for example, "Dear Prudence" was written about actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who attended the transcendental meditation course with The Beatles in Rishikesh. Often she stayed in her room, engaged in Transcendental Meditation. "Julia" was the name of Lennon's beloved but frequently absent mother, who died during his youth. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" expresses concern over being "bought and sold," a theme in later songs about Harrison himself, such as "Handle with Care", recorded with The Traveling Wilburys. "Glass Onion" is a Beatles song about Beatles' songs.

Some of the songs on The Beatles mark important changes in the band's recording style. Previously, no female voices were to be heard on a Beatles album, but Yoko Ono made her first vocal appearance on this record, adding backing vocals in "Birthday" (along with Pattie Harrison); Yoko also sang backing vocals and a solo line on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and, as noted earlier, was a strong influence on Lennon's musique concrète piece, "Revolution 9," an avant-garde sound collage that McCartney initially did not want to include on the album.

Compositions not included

A number of songs were recorded in demo form for possible inclusion but were not incorporated as part of the album. These included "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" (both of which would be used for the medley on Abbey Road); "Child of Nature" (recorded with drastically different lyrics as "Jealous Guy" for Lennon's Imagine), "Jubilee" (later retitled "Junk" and released on McCartney's first solo LP); "Etcetera" (a McCartney composition later recorded by the Black Dyke Mills Band as "Thingumybob"); "Circles" (which Harrison would return to fourteen years later on his 1982 album "Gone Troppo"); "The Long and Winding Road" (completed in 1969 for the Let It Be LP); "Something" (which ended up on Abbey Road); and "Sour Milk Sea" (which Harrison gave to friend and Apple artist Jackie Lomax for his first LP, Is This What You Want). Other songs recorded for, but ultimately left off The Beatles received significant exposure via bootlegs, notably Harrison's "Circles" and "Not Guilty" (which he would eventually re-record as solo tracks and release on his 1982 album, Gone Troppo and 1979 self-titled album, George Harrison respectively) and Lennon's manic "What's the New Mary Jane".

Editing concerns, and release

The Beatles was the first Beatles' album released by Apple Records, as well as their only original double album. Producer George Martin has said that he was against the idea of a double album at the time and suggested to the group that they reduce the number of songs in order to form a single album featuring their stronger work, but that the band decided against this. Interviewed for the Beatles Anthology, Starr said he now felt it should have been released as two separate albums. Harrison felt on reflection that some of the tracks could have been released as B sides, but "there was a lot of ego in that band". He also supported the idea of the double album, to clear out the backlog of songs the group had at the time. McCartney, by contrast, said it was fine as it was and that its wide variety of songs was a major part of the album's appeal.

The White Album (1968) shares the same 22nd November release date as The Beatles second album, With The Beatles (1963).


SOURCE: wikipedia

Beatles Music

http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps

White Album

http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog

The Beatles - Revolution

New Vinyl Releases

12/2/08 RELEASE DATE

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']


12/9/08 RELEASE DATE

10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']

Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/

New Vinyl Releases

12/2/08 RELEASE DATE

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']


12/9/08 RELEASE DATE

10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']

Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/

Saturday, November 29, 2008

The Format That Refuses To Die; Vinyl Records Alive And Well

Written By Mike Duffy


Even with all the advances in audio technology and the digital craze, one format has withstood the test of time: vinyl records.

The evolution of personal audio playback is an interesting tale: from paper cylinders to records, records to 8-tracks, 8-tracks to cassettes, cassettes to CDs, and finally, CDs to digital MP3s, only one "primitive" format has managed to not fade away into history. Records were introduced way back in 1877 and are still being widely used across the world, and it's not just DJs who are using them.

Thanks in part to high school children who are just discovering vinyl records for the first time, and baby boomers who are looking for a taste of nostalgia, the vinyl record market has exploded in recent years, with sales increasing about 35 percent in 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. People are once again snatching up vinyl records as quickly as they are produced, and record label executives are taking notice.

As a result, more and more labels are choosing to press their new releases on the format they once considered obsolete, even going into their catalog and re-pressing some of their older albums. Labels are still catering to digital savvy consumers though, as many new vinyl releases often come with download cards, which can be redeemed online to receive MP3's of the album. Online retailers have also taken note, and are now offering more vinyl records for sale. An influx of new websites specifically catering to vinyl enthusiasts have also been popping up, selling vinyl and record accessories.

There are several reasons why vinyl sales have taken off in recent years. Any purist (or audiophile) will tell you that vinyl sounds better than any other format available today. You will hear things playing a record that you won't be able to pick up on when playing that same album in CD or MP3 format. Vinyl also comes in different weights, which is measured in grams, and ranges from the standard 140 grams all the way up to 220 grams. The heavier a record is, the better sound quality you will get. Some people will only settle for the best, and some younger folks are tired of the high compression rates found in CDs and MP3s, which steals the quality of the music. And some have sought out alternative methods of listening to their favorite albums.

Most records released today come in elaborate packaging that features liner notes and larger artwork than their CD counterparts. Vinyl now comes in various colors, patterns, shapes and styles. There's the standard 12 inch LP, which supports full length albums; seven inch singles, which are often used for only one or two songs; and all sizes in between. Records have also strayed from the standard black vinyl circle into elaborate shapes and bright colors. Records are being pressed on every color found in the rainbow and then some, as well as almost every shape known to man. The variety and bigger size attracts many buyers.

One more reason why vinyl sales have taken off is their collectability. The market has never been better for someone who is in possession of an original Beatles or Led Zeppelin LP. These days vinyl is often pressed in one time limited runs, or presses, compared to an almost infinite amount when records were the dominant format. This makes some records highly sought after. Multiple colors are also pressed, leading to many variations of a single record, which also leads to collectability. Some records released for the first time in 10 years can fetch as much as $200 once they go out of print. For example, a record of only 1,000 total copies were pressed: out of that 1,000, only 100 were pressed on red vinyl, and 500 were pressed on blue. A red record would be worth more to collectors than the blue record, and could fetch a hefty sum on eBay and other online outlets.

For whatever reason - whether it be for their superior sound quality, the larger and more detailed artwork and packaging, or just for old time's sake - vinyl records are here to stay. And they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

SOURCE: http://media.www.pioneertimeswpu.com

Vinyl helps record stores find a niche

Independent record stores spin success

On an unassuming stretch in Chicago's Beverly community, there is a music revolution sounding thanks to two independent record stores that keep spinning the vinyl even in tough economic times.


Beverly Records, 11612 S. Western Ave., and Mr. Peabody Records, 11832 S. Western Ave., are separated only by a few blocks, but they remain two of the few independent records stores in the Southland. Although the region once was filled with competitors such as Discount Records and Threshold Music in Tinley Park, the digital music revolution and rise of big-box chains such as Best Buy forced several independent record stores to shut down.

"You just can't compete with free, and that's pretty much what occurred," said Mark Ament, who owned Discount Records. Ament opened the first Discount Records in 1980 at the corner of 59th Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. He eventually opened stores throughout the Southland - in Midlothian, Matteson, Homewood and Frankfort. The stores sold vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs but, when customers started burning music and relying on MP3s, Ament said his business became no longer viable.

He began closing stores in 2006, starting with the Frankfort location, and one store closed every six months until the final store in Matteson closed in February.

"It's a reality that people don't spend money on music, especially in today's times when consumers are hit hard in the pocket from gas prices," he said.

Hanging on

Though it can be challenging, Beverly Records and Mr. Peabody Records have stayed afloat by supporting a niche market. Both stores focus on selling rare vinyl, which has seen a surprising surge in popularity this year.

Beverly Records opened as a penny candy store in 1967, selling candy, gift cards, novelties and the top records of the week, according to Jack Dreznes, current owner of the store. His mother, Christine, who ran the store back then, noticed that customers began asking for the old records after they were replaced. She started specializing in harder-to-find items and records. By the 1970s, nearly 75 percent of the items in the store were records.

Dreznes, who started working at the store in 1975 after serving in the Army, immediately fell in love with the unique clientele who would come in the store and ask for rare records.

"I remember somebody called and said, 'I want a record by Jelly Roll Morton.' I said, 'You're kidding me, right?' And he said, 'No I'm serious. He was a jazz artist in the '40s.' I said, 'Oh, I'll take a look,' and, sure enough, we had two or three records by him. I said, 'Oh, this is fun.' I just gave up looking for a job and stayed since then," Dreznes said.

The store established branches throughout the Chicago area in the '80s, but as demand for vinyl diminished and CDs become more popular, those at Beverly Records decided to focus on one store and closed down the last branch in the mid-1990s.

"Since then, we've been hanging on," Dreznes said. "We're not thriving, but we're surviving by specializing in harder-to-get things that the bigger stores don't bother with - the jazz, the karaoke, the more obscure artists from the '50s and '60s. Kind of what our clientele asks for -- the more they ask, the more we'll get in stock."

By specializing in hard-to-find records and karaoke equipment, customers looking for a specific record can walk in and request a record. Using the Internet, record collector sites and other stores Beverly Records networks with, Dreznes said it usually can track down most records if they are not in stock.

This specialization keeps Cedric McQuitter, a former disc jockey and avid record collector, coming to Beverly Records between 10 and 15 times a year. McQuitter's wife works at an FYE store, but when looking for a rare record, McQuitter chooses to shop at Beverly Records.

"There's no comparison in my book. No comparison," he said.

On a recent afternoon, McQuitter, who's 49 and lives in Chicago's West Pullman community, came to the store looking for an old disco record titled "Do You Wanna Funk?" by Sylvester.

In addition to walk-in customers, approximately 10 percent of the business comes from Internet sales overseas, mainly from England, Japan, Germany and France.

Rare recordings

Just two blocks south of Beverly Records, Mr. Peabody Records is another independent record store that has survived by focusing on a niche market. The store, which opened in February 2004, specializes in soul, jazz, rock, dance, disco and early rap music. The store stocks more than 80,000 vinyl records and a few thousand CDs.

Co-owners Marcus Pettigrew and Mike Cole Jr. decided to open a record store after meeting at Beverly Records and realizing they both were obsessive collectors.

"We were talking about records. From then, I gave him a ride home. We were playing tapes in the car, and he went into the house and got some tapes. He said, 'Man have you heard this? Do you know about this? Do you know this label?' " Pettigrew said. "We figure two can do more than one, so we might as well team up and see how much stuff we can find and discover."

About 90 percent of their business is on the Internet, mostly from overseas clients who are looking for rare records, Pettigrew said. Dealing with high-end collectors who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for records helps focus their niche. Pettigrew and Cole also work with record labels - including the London-based BBE - with licensing and redistributing rare music.

"I think (in the beginning) everyone was probably like, 'Are you guys crazy? You're dealing with vinyl?' Now look at it. Best Buy is carrying vinyl. But it's an extreme niche," Pettigrew said. "We have to really watch how much we buy and what we buy. You've got to know what you're doing today to survive."

SOURCE: http://www.southtownstar.com

Music News & Notes

Barry Manilow Music Punishing

A US judge may have found the perfect punishment for people who are in his courtroom for being too noisy- an hour of listening to Barry Manilow or the theme to the children's television show "Barney and Friends."

Judge Paul Sacco said he decided to try this unique approach after determining that violators brought before his Colorado court for playing their steroes too loud or disturbing neighbors with band rehearsals, kept doing it again.

"This is a way, when I look back, of teaching manners to people," Sacco stated.

His method appears to be working, as the number of repeat offenders has been on the decrease.

What's next, punishment by making them listen to Yoko Ono singing?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Cliff Richard's Shadows to reunite for tour

LONDON (Reuters) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows will reunite next year for the last time with a stadium tour of Britain, tour organizers Live Nation said.

Veteran rocker Richard, most famous for chart-topping singles like "Living Doll," "The Young Ones" and "Summer Holiday," first recorded and performed with The Shadows in 1959. The reunion tour was announced on Thursday.

He and the band enjoyed a series of hits in the early 1960s before he began a successful solo career in 1968. The Shadows have toured regularly since then, but are performing with Richard for the first time in 20 years, Live Nation added.

Richard, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett will take to the stage from September 2009, visiting cities across Britain including London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Glasgow. The 11-show tour is due to finish on October 17 in Manchester.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Simmons Confirms New Kiss Album

Gene Simmons has confirmed to Canada's Sun Media that Kiss is writing new music and will record an album in 2009 with production by Paul Stanley. They will follow it with a short tour.

"We'll do a handful of shows just to keep in the game (next) summer, maybe 10, some Canadian shows."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kinks to Release First Career Retrospective Box Set

The Kinks will release their first ever box set on December 8 when "Picture Book" becomes available from Sanctuary/Universal.

The 6-CD set contains 130 tracks ranging from their biggest hits to rarities, demos and live tracks. Included are a few tracks from the pre-Kinks band, the Ravens.

Accompanying the discs is a 60-page book with a biography, timeline and numerous previouly unpublished photos. Some of the tracks include:

"You Really Got Me, Stop Your Sobbing, All Day and All of the Night, Tired of Waiting for You, Set Me Free, A Well Respected Man, Dedicated Follower of Fashion (alternate stereo take), Sunny Afternoon, Got to Be Free, Lola (mono single version), Celluloid Heroes, A Rock 'N Roll Fantasy, Low Budget (live) and many more classics."

Album Cover Art

Let's continue our look at Gigwise.com's list of the top 50 dirtiest and sexiest album cover art, this time #24 (Gigwise comments in quotes):


24. Casanova: ‘All Beauty Must Die’ - "A naked woman on a bed of roses, a sexual fantasy of many a man and even better when the lady is question is as hot as the model on the cover of ‘All Beauty Must Die’. A pretty apt piece of cover art for a band called Casanova, then."

Michael Voss - Vocals, Guitars
Stephan Neumeier - Guitars
Jurgen Attig - Bass
Michael Eurich - Drums



Tracks:

1. On My Love 3:52
2. Happy 4:12
3. Not Over You 3:59
4. Would I 3:29
5. Lying 4:50
6. Dreamer 3:48
7. Last Of The Runaways 3:23
8. Under My Skin 3:35
9. Psycho Lisa 5:17
10. After The Love Goes 3:57
11. The Guitar Man 3:38

Excellent comeback album! German melodic hard rock band Casanova was founded by two Michaels at the beginning of the 90s Michael Voss, former vocalist and guitarist of Mad Max and Bonfire and Michael Eurich, the original drummer of Warlock.

Classic Rock Videos

1970 Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady

The Beatles' White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute

Critical reception and legacy

The Beatles were at the peak of their global influence and visibility in late 1968. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released the previous year, had enjoyed a combination of commercial success, critical acclaim, and immense cultural influence that had previously seemed inconceivable for a pop release. Time magazine, for instance, had written in 1967 that Pepper constituted a "historic departure in the progress of music—any music," while Timothy Leary, in a widely quoted assessment of the same period, declared that the band were prototypes of "evolutionary agents sent by God, endowed with mysterious powers to create a new human species." After creating an album that had delivered such critical, commercial, and generational shockwaves, The Beatles faced the inevitable question of what they could possibly do to top it. The next full-length album, whatever it was, was destined to draw considerable scrutiny. The intervening release of Magical Mystery Tour notwithstanding (released as a double-EP package in the UK), The Beatles represented the group's first major musical statement since Pepper, and thus was a highly anticipated event for both the mainstream press and the youth-oriented counterculture movement with which the band had by this time become strongly associated. Expectations, to say the least, were high. The reviews were mixed.

Tony Palmer, in The Observer, wrote shortly after the album's release: "If there is still any doubt that Lennon and McCartney are the greatest songwriters since Schubert, then . . . [the album The Beatles] . . . should surely see the last vestiges of cultural snobbery and bourgeois prejudice swept away in a deluge of joyful music making. . . ."

Richard Goldstein, writing in The New York Times on December 8, 1968, described the album as a "major success."

Another review in The New York Times, this one by Nik Cohn, considered the album "boring beyond belief" and described "more than half the songs" as "profound mediocrities."

Alan Smith, in an NME review entitled "The Brilliant, the Bad, and the Ugly," derided "Revolution #9" as a "pretentious" example of "idiot immaturity" and, in the following sentence, assigned the benediction "God Bless You, Beatles!" to "most of the rest" of the album.

Smith's review established a pattern that has endured for much of the critical assessment that followed. Many of the reviews since 1968—and The Beatles surely ranks among the most-reviewed releases in rock history—have tempered rapturous enthusiasm with a consistent note of criticism about the album's seemingly undisciplined structure and perceived excesses. Unlike such albums as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver, The Beatles is a release that, four decades on, tends to provoke heated discussions of such topics as continuity, style, and integrity.

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide praises the album but maintains that it has "loads of self-indulgent filler," identifying "Revolution #9" in particular as "justly maligned," and suggests that listeners in the CD era, who can program digital players to skip over unwanted tracks, may have an advantage over the album's original audience.

Some contemporary critics say the album's inclusion of supposedly extraneous material is a part of its appeal. The allmusic.com review contends that:

"Each song on the sprawling double album The Beatles is an entity to itself, as the band touches on anything and everything they can. This makes for a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, depending on your view, but what makes the White Album interesting is its mess."

One important current trend in critical assessments of the album is to draw parallels between the band's disintegrating ensemble and the chaotic events of the tumultuous year in which The Beatles was created, 1968. Along these lines, Slant Magazine observed that:

"(The album) reveals the popping seams of a band that had the pressure of an entire fissuring generational/political gap on its back. Maybe it's because it shows The Beatles at the point where even their music couldn't hide the underlying tensions between John, Paul, George, and Ringo, or maybe because it was (coincidentally?) released at the tail end of a year anyone could agree was the embittered honeymoon's end for the Love Generation, the year when, to borrow from a famous Yeats poem, the center decidedly could not hold ... for whatever reason, The Beatles is still one of the few albums by the Fab Four that resists reflexive canonization, which, along with society's continued fragmentation, keeps the album fresh and surprising."

SOURCE: wikipedia


Beatles Music

http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps

White Album

http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog






The Beatles - HELTER SKELTER


This Date In Music History-November 29

Birthdays:

Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals turns 64.

Chuck Mangione is 58.

Billboard chart guru Joel Whitburn was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in 1939.

Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau (1951)

John Mayall (Bluesbreakers) (1933)

They Are Missed:


Beatles' guitarist George Harrison passed away in 2001 at the age of 58, while resting at a friend's home in Los Angeles. The news came as a shock to the world, despite Harrison's much-chronicled cancer treatments. Speaking outside his home in St John's Wood, north west London, Paul McCartney said: 'I am devastated and very very sad'. Ringo Starr, speaking from Vancouver, Canada said: 'We will miss George for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter.'

The late Denny Doherty of the Mamas & the Papas ("I Saw Her Again") was born in 1941.

History:

At the 1959 Grammy Awards, held just six months after a similar award show, Bobby Darin won Record of the Year for "Mack the Knife" as well as the Best New Artist of the Year. Song of the Year was awarded to Jimmy Driftwood, writer of Johnny Horton's hit, "The Battle Of New Orleans.” The winner of Album of the Year was Frank Sinatra's "Come Dance With Me."

The Beatles' fifth British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released in 1963. Advance orders exceeded 700,000 and within three days the record sold one million copies, making it their second million seller. It was released in the US on December 26th and spent seven weeks at #1.

The Beatles score a two-sided #1 hit in 1969 with John Lennon’s “Come Together” and George Harrison’s “Something.” Both songs are on “Abbey Road.”

Donovan hits #1 in 1966 with "Sunshine Superman."

Yes released their self-titled debut album in 1969.

Today in 1975, the song "Fly, Robin, Fly" by the Silver Convention topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.

In England, in 1968, it was announced that the Beatles double album (aka The White Album) had sold 2 million copies in its first week on sale, a new record.

The Who released their first concert record in 1968, "The Who Sell Out."

In 1979, the original four members of KISS performed their last show together-until 1996, when they reunited for a makeup tour.

Metallica played their first headlining show in 1982. They played the song "Whiplash" for the first time.

Kansas goes platinum with “Point Of No Return” in 1977. The album contains one of their best songs “Carry On Wayward Son.”

Neil Young’s Comes A Time” goes gold in 1978.

Elvis Presley's LP "From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis" reached the Billboard album chart in 1969, where it will stay for the next 24 weeks, climbing as high as #12.

In 1997, Whitney Houston backed out of a slated one million dollar performance at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC after finding out the event was a mass wedding for over 1,000 Moonie couples. Ohmmmmmmm

Bon Jovi hit #1 in 1986 with "You Give Love a Bad Name.”

In 2006, a two-day auction begins on items that belonged to the late founding Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett. Among the articles on the block at the fine-art sale in Cambridge is Barrett's own never-before-seen artwork, some signed by the musician, two hand-painted bicycles, homemade speakers and a classical guitar. Ten paintings sell for more than $100,000 while the auction raises $200,000. A portion funds "educational development" in the art world. Barrett, who left Floyd in ‘68, passed away July 7th. 2006

Friday, November 28, 2008

Vinyl Collective "Black Friday" Sale

My friend over at www.vinylcollective.com is having an awesome vinyl (and CD) sale for "Black Friday." Stop on by and see what Virgil has slashed prices on! Here is a preview of his post:



The Black Friday Wholesale Pricing Sale gives you the same price that we sell our records to distributors for. Don’t tell our distributors! This is better than an Employee Pricing Sale as our staff gets 20 percent off of our retail prices. Don’t tell our staff! The Sale begins tonight and will end on Monday. Do not snooze on these prices, it isn’t very likely you will see this kind of sale from us for some time.

One more thing, we have also lowered all of the Suburban Home full length CDs for $5.00 Each! There are quite a few $5 CDs on our site, but over the weekend all of the Suburban Home albums will be $5.

36 CRAZYFISTS “The Tide and It’s Takers” LP blue/black half and half vinyl $9.00
36 CRAZYFISTS “The Tide and It’s Takers” LP maroon vinyl $9.00
A LIFE ONCE LOST “Iron Gag” LP grey/black half and half vinyl $9.00
A LIFE ONCE LOST “Iron Gag” LP tranparent red w/ black splatter vinyl $9.00
AVAIL “4 AM Friday” dbl LP brown vinyl $14.00
AVAIL “4 AM Friday” dbl LP silver vinyl $14.00
AVAIL “Dixie” dbl LP clear vinyl $14.00
AVAIL “Dixie” dbl LP white vinyl $14.00
AVAIL “Over The James” LP beer colored amber vinyl $10.00
AVAIL “Over The James” LP orange vinyl $10.00
BOYS NIGHT OUT “Make Yourself Sick” LP blue vinyl $9.00
BOYS NIGHT OUT “Make Yourself Sick” LP blue/black half and half vinyl $9.00
DECAY ìBack In The Houseî 7″ $1.00
DISCOUNT/CIGARETTEMAN ìSplitî 7″ $2.00
Drag the River “…has a way with women” 7″ red vinyl $3.00
Drag the River “…has a way with women” 7″ yellow vinyl $3.00
DRAG THE RIVER “Esta Loco” LP Black Vinyl $6.50
DRAG THE RIVER ìYou Can’t Live This Wayî LP Brown Vinyl $7.00
DRAG THE RIVER ìYou Can’t Live This Wayî LP Red Vinyl $7.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Gutter Phenomenon” LP pink/black half and half $9.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Gutter Phenomenon” LP white w/ pink splatter $9.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Hot Damn” LP clear w/ red, black, and silver splatter $9.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Hot Damn” LP silver/black half and half $9.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Last Night In Town” LP black with red splatter vinyl $8.00
EVERY TIME I DIE “Last Night In Town” LP transparent beer / opaque frothy head o $8.00
EVERY TIME I DIE Big Dirty LP purple w/ black splatter $9.00
EVERY TIME I DIE Last Night In Town LP white/red/orange $8.00
FAKE PROBLEMS / LOOK MEXICO “Under the Influence Vol 1″ 7″ yellow vinyl $4.25
FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES always open dbl LP RY $10.00
FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES always open dbl LP RYS $10.00
FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES Art Damage pic disc LP $7.75
FOXY SHAZAM “Introducing” LP clear w/ rainbow splatter $9.00
FOXY SHAZAM “Introducing” LP orange/red half and half vinyl $9.00
FYP / CHANIWA ìsplitî 10″ $3.00
GHOST BUFFALO “The Magician” LP Red w/ Gold Splatter vinyl $8.00
GHOST BUFFALO “The Magician” LP tan/brown half and half w/ red splatter $8.00
HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shock” LP brown / pink half $9.00
HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shock” LP clear w/ pink, blue $9.00
JEALOUS SOUND Kill Them With Kindness 2xLP white vinyl $15.00
JOEY CAPE Bridge LP green vinyl lagwagon bad astronaut $8.00
KAY KAY AND HIS WEATHERED UNDERGROUND “Diggin” 7″ clear vinyl $4.25
KAY KAY AND HIS WEATHERED UNDERGROUND “Diggin” 7″ green vinyl $4.25
KAY KAY AND HIS WEATHERED UNDERGROUND “S/t” Orange with Red Speckles $13.50
LAGRECIA “On Parallels” LP grey vinyl (w/ digital download card) $8.00
LIMBECK “S/T” LP (Gold vinyl) ltd to 500 copies $7.00
LIMBECK “S/T” LP (Platinum vinyl) ltd to 500 copies $7.00
Love Me Destroyer “The Things Around us Burn” LP grey marble vinyl $8.50
Love Me Destroyer “The Things Around us Burn” LP orange/blue half and half vinyl $8.50
MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER “II” LP Blue vinyl $8.00
MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER “II” LP brown white hh $8.00
MINUS THE BEAR “Interpretaciones Del Oso” LP 180 gram vinyl $9.00
MINUS THE BEAR “Interpretaciones Del Oso” LP mystery colored vinyl $8.00
MINUS THE BEAR “Planet of Ice” dbl LP baby pink vinyl $11.00
MINUS THE BEAR “Planet of Ice” dbl LP coke bottle blue $11.00
NINJA GUN “Restless Rubes” LP transparent green vinyl $8.00
NORMA JEAN “The Anti-Mother” LP blood red vinyl $9.00
NORMA JEAN 4 x LP Vinyl Box Set colored vinyl A (400) $30.00
NORMA JEAN 4 x LP Vinyl Box Set colored vinyl set B limited to 700 $30.00
NORMA JEAN AntiMother LP black/white half & half vinyl $9.00
PORTUGAL THE MAN “Church Mouth” LP chocolate vinyl $8.00
PORTUGAL THE MAN “Church Mouth” LP deep blue vinyl $8.00
PORTUGAL THE MAN “Church Mouth” LP plum vinyl $8.00
PORTUGAL THE MAN “Church Mouth” LP raspberry vomu; $8.00
PORTUGAL THE MAN Waiter: You Vultures LP silver/black $8.00
SCOTT REYNOLDS AND THE STEAMING BEAST “Adventure Boy” LP Burgundy/Gold half and $7.00
SCOTT REYNOLDS AND THE STEAMING BEAST “Adventure Boy” LP Gold w/ Burgundy Swirl $7.00
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY “Intervals” LP clear w/ rainbow splatter $9.00
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY “Intervals” LP picture disc $9.00
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY “Parasite” LP Black w/ Rainbow Splatter vinyl $8.00
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY “Parasite” LP clear w/ gold splatter vinyl $8.00
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY “Parasite” LP ice blue / clear half and half w/ blue splatt $9.00
SPARTA “Threes” dbl LP peach w/ black splatter $11.00
SPARTA “Threes” dbl LP white vinyl $11.00
TAKERS “Curse of a Drunk” 7″ black vinyl $4.25
TAKERS “Curse of a Drunk” 7″ silver vinyl $4.25
THE BANNER “Frailty” LP black w/ silver splatter vinyl $10.00
THE BANNER “Frailty” LP silver/black half and half vinyl $10.00
THE PLAYING FAVORITES “I Remember When I Was Pretty” LP blue w/ white speckles $7.00
THE PLAYING FAVORITES “I Remember When I Was Pretty” LP pink/blue half and half $7.00
Tim Barry “Laurel St Demos” LP clear vinyl $8.00
Tim Barry “Laurel St Demos” LP transparent blue vinyl $8.00
TIM BARRY “Live at Munford Elementary” 7″ brown vinyl $4.25
TIM BARRY “Manchester” LP brown vinyl $8.00
TIM BARRY “Rivanna Junction” LP grey/black half & half $7.50
TWO COW GARAGE “Speaking In Cursive” LP gold vinyl $8.00
TWO COW GARAGE “Speaking In Cursive” LP opaque brown vinyl $8.00
USELESS I.D. “Lost Broken Bones” LP tranparent green $8.00
USELESS I.D. “Lost Broken Bones” LP tranparent red $8.00
V/A “Delicious Vinyl: Fest 08″ LP $5.00

Top Ten TV Theme Songs

Let's explore PasteMagazine.com's list of theme songs, this time see what made #1 on their list:

1. Cheers - "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy

Portnoy's prior claim to fame was penning the theme song for Punky Brewster, "Every Time You Turn Around" (oh c'mon, you remember it). My favorite theme song of all time is sappy as hell, but sometimes we do want to go where everybody knows our name. It does what a great theme song should do—set the tone. Despite the cutting and sarcastic quips flying around the bar, Cheers was at its core as sweet as Portnoy's introduction.



Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles-Burrows-Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The show is set in the Cheers bar (named for the toast "Cheers") in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink and have fun. The show's theme song was written by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy and performed by Portnoy; its famous refrain, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" also became the show's tagline.

After premiering on September 30, 1982, it was nearly cancelled during its first season when it ranked dead last in ratings. However, Cheers eventually became a highly rated television show in the United States, earning a top-ten rating during eight of its eleven seasons, including one season at #1, and spending the bulk of its run on NBC's "Must See Thursday" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast on May 20, 1993. The show's 275 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide, and have earned 28 Emmy Awards from of a total of 117 nominations. The character Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was featured in his own successful spin-off, Frasier.

The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was originally supposed to be played by Fred Dryer, but after casting Ted Danson it was decided that a former baseball player would be more believable, given Danson's slimmer physique. The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after he auditioned for the role of "Norm". While chatting with producers afterwards, he asked if they were going to include a "bar know-it-all", the part which he eventually played. Kirstie Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left, and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died. Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman were the only actors to appear in every episode of the series. Paul Willson, who played the recurring barfly character of "Paul", made early appearances in the first season as "Glen", was credited as "Gregg", and also appeared in the show as a character named "Tom".

interesting tidbits:

Although some believe Shelley Long leaving the show was a bad career move, she has gone on to star in several television and film roles, notably The Brady Bunch Movie and its sequels. (yeah, great career move Shelley)

Kirstie Alley starred in the TV series Veronica's Closet as well as numerous miniseries and film roles.

Ted Danson, who had been the highest paid Cheers cast member earning $450,000 an episode in the final season, has starred in the successful sitcom Becker as well as the unsuccessful sitcoms Ink and Help Me Help You and the drama series Damages. He has starred in a number of movies, including Three Men and a Baby and Made in America. Ted and his wife regularly play themselves on Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David's friends.

Kelsey Grammer was arguably the most successful with his spin-off Frasier, which lasted for the same eleven-season run Cheers had, as well as a recurring guest role on The Simpsons as Sideshow Bob. By the final season of Frasier, Grammer had become the highest paid actor on television, earning about $1.6 million an episode. Woody Harrelson has also had a successful career following Cheers, including appearances in a number of notable films that have established him as a box-office draw. He also earned an Academy Award nomination in 1997 for The People vs. Larry Flynt.

Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and entered into syndication. When the show went off the air in 1993, Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries with 179 American television markets and 83 million viewers.

In 1985, Crystal Gayle sang "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" on the Emmy Awards.

In October 1991, the cast of Cheers performed the Cheers Theme as part of host Kirstie Alley’s opening monologue on Saturday Night Live. (When Alley again hosted SNL the following year the opening skit was repeated, this time with SNL cast members parodying the various Cheers cast members.)

In 1991, the theme from Cheers was parodied (“At Flaming Moe’s”) in an episode of The Simpsons entitled “Flaming Moe's”.

On May 20, 1993, Gary Portnoy, Judy Hart Angelo and the cast of Cheers sang “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno live from Boston following the airing of the final episode of Cheers.

Another all time favorite of mine, Cheers will endure forever. I have the 45 rpm single and it is always a pleasure to hear it. The record and sleeve both go for around $3-5 a piece.

Stop by www.Pastemagazine.com to review some of the other songs (we only did the Top Ten), it is a very interesting look at some great TV songs

Classic Rock Videos

Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze

Album Cover Art

Let's continue our look at Gigwise.com's list of the top 50 dirtiest and sexiest album cover art, this time #25 (Gigwise comments in quotes):


25. Dwarves: ‘Come Clean’ - "Like so many of the covers on this countdown, ‘Come Clean’ plays on the sexual fantasies of the red blooded male – this time it is the wet body of a naked lady and we have two to feast our eyes on but also the disturbing dwarf like figure to put us off."

Eighth album from melodic punk act now expanding their sound to include hardcore techno and big beats. Produced by Eric Valentine (Smashmouth, Third Eye Blind). 2000 release.

Come Clean is a fairly radical departure for the Dwarves, combining catchy, garagey punk-pop tunes with jackhammer electronic beats that recall industrial-metal bands like Ministry, or the hardcore techno of Atari Teenage Riot. It's an odd, striking fusion, and parts of it actually work surprisingly well; plus, it's an interesting listen even when the juxtaposition seems a little forced. But just as importantly, the Dwarves have written songs that feature a batch of pretty memorable hooks, which helps make Come Clean one of their most intriguing albums. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Eleanor Rigby document fetches $177,000

LONDON (Reuters) – A 97-year-old document that contains clues to the identity of Eleanor Rigby, the subject of one of the Beatles' best-loved songs, sold for 115,000 pounds ($177,000) at auction on Thursday.

The total fell well short of high estimates of around 500,000 pounds for the piece of Beatles memorabilia.

The money will go to the seller Annie Mawson and her charity the Sunbeams Music Trust (www.sunbeamsmusic.org), which uses music to help people with special needs.

The manuscript is a salary register from Liverpool City Hospital and features the name and signature of E. Rigby, a scullery maid who has signed for her monthly wage. Her annual earnings were 14 pounds.

According to Mawson, the document was sent to her in 1990 by former Beatle Paul McCartney when she wrote to him on behalf of her charity.

"I wrote ... to Paul and asked him for half a million pounds. But by the end of the letter I just said 'Look, I know you're a very caring person and I feel it's a privilege to share my story with you'," she told Reuters before the sale.

read the rest of the article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081127/music_nm/us_beatles_rigby

The Beatles' White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute

Let's continue our celebration of the Beatles "White Album"

Cultural responses

Ian MacDonald, in his book Revolution in the Head, argues that The Beatles was the album in which the band's cryptic messages to its fan base became not merely vague but intentionally and perhaps dangerously open-ended, citing oblique passages in songs like "Glass Onion" (e.g., "the walrus was Paul") and "Piggies" ("what they need's a damn good whacking"). These pronouncements, and many others on the album, came to attract extraordinary popular interest at a time when more of the world's youth were using drugs recreationally and looking for spiritual, political, and strategic advice from The Beatles. Steve Turner, too, in his book A Hard Day's Write, maintains that, with this album, "The Beatles had perhaps laid themselves open to misinterpretation by mixing up the languages of poetry and nonsense." Bob Dylan's songs had been similarly mined for hidden meanings, but the massive countercultural analysis (or perhaps overanalysis) of The Beatles surpassed anything that had gone before.

Even Lennon's seemingly direct engagement with the tumultuous political issues of 1968 in "Revolution 1" carried a nuanced obliqueness, and ended up sending messages the author may not have intended. In the album's version of the song, Lennon advises those who "talk about destruction" to "count me out." As McDonald notes, however, Lennon then follows the sung word "out" with the spoken word "in." At the time of the album's release—which followed, chronologically, the up-tempo single version of the song, "Revolution," in which Lennon definitely wanted to be counted "out"—that single word "in" was taken by many on the radical left as Lennon's acknowledgment, after considered thought, that violence in the pursuit of political aims was indeed justified in some cases. At a time of increasing unrest in the streets and campuses of Paris and Berkeley, the album's (seemingly more equivocal) lyrics seemed to many to mark a reversal of Lennon's position on the question, which was hotly debated during this period.

The search for hidden meanings within the songs reached its low point when cult leader Charles Manson used the record, and generous helpings of hallucinogens, to persuade members of his "family" that the album was in fact an apocalyptic message predicting a prolonged race war and justifying the murder of wealthy people. The album's strange association with a high-profile mass murder was one of many factors that helped to deepen the accelerating divide between those who were profoundly skeptical of the "youth culture" movement that had unfolded in the middle and late 1960s in England, the United States, and elsewhere, and those who admired the openness and spontaneity of that movement. Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi wrote a best-selling book about the Manson "family" that explicated, among other things, the cult's fixation with identifying hidden messages within The Beatles; Bugliosi's book was entitled Helter Skelter, the term Manson took from the album's song of that name and construed as the conflict he thought impending.

Cultural responses to the album persisted for decades, and even offer a glimpse into the process of collective myth-making. In October 1969, a Detroit radio program began to promote theories based on "clues" supposedly left on The Beatles and other Beatles albums that Paul McCartney had died and been replaced by a lookalike. The ensuing hunt for "clues" to a "coverup" The Beatles presumably wanted to suppress (and simultaneously publicise) became one of the classic examples of the development and persistence of urban legends.

SOURCE: wikipedia

Beatles Music

http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps

White Album

http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog


While My Guitar Gently Weeps - George Harrison

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Album Cover Art

Continuing with the Gigwise.com list of the dirtiest and sexiest album covers, let's look at #26 on the list:


26. Lords Of Acid: ‘Crablouse’ – The Belgian acid house outfit became infamous for their obsession with sex throughout the early nineties. Their album covers were bad enough – see ‘Lust’ in our Controversial Album Covers gallery – but ‘Crablouse’ perhaps takes the biscuit. A curious male naked form, with a female hand seemingly coming out of nowhere and grabbing the genital region, it’s just plain baffling.






Track Listings

1. Crablouse in Its Native Environment
2. Whatever You Do, Remain Calm
3. Ludo's No Visible Symptoms
4. Ludo's It's There to Stay
5. Ludo's Coming Even Harder
6. Joey's Sample to the Lab
7. Joey's Nothing Can Kill
8. Joey's Seven Year Itch
9. Roli's Cured by Muscle
10. Roli's the Body Is Our Destiny
11. Don't Kill for Love



Not a big fan.....

Music News & Notes

Thin Lizzy Moves to Stop Biopic of Phil Lynott


Members of Thin Lizzy have moved to stop a biopic of late frontman Phil Lynott. Guitarist Scott Gorham told the director that he would not receive the group's approval until their was a complete rewrite of the script.

"It's an ongoing saga because when we looked at the script, it was full of truths and half-truths and Hollywood's take on Phil's life was all about drugs.

"Of course there were drugs - that's the sensational side of Thin Lizzy - but when the movie absolutely centred on that it became a problem.

"We want to veer people towards the music of Phillo and Thin Lizzy because he was a remarkable songwriter, musician and performer.

"There was a lot more to Phil and the band than just taking drugs. It irritates me that the personal stuff overshadows the musical legacy. You only get one shot at getting a movie right. We won't give it the green light until everyone is happy."

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Blink 182 Members Reconcile

The former members of Blink 182 don't hate each other so bad anymore.

After drummer Travis Barker was severely injured in a plane crash in September and producer Jerry Finn passed away, the members of Blink 182 are letting some of the old issues be water under the bridge.

"(Singer/guitarist) Tom (DeLonge), Travis, and I have all spoken together," singer/bassist Mark Hoppus wrote on his blog. "First through a number of phone calls, and then a couple of weeks ago we all hung out for a few hours. They've all been great, very positive conversations. We're just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking."

No immediate plans to reunite Blink have been discussed Hoppus said.

SOURCE: http://www.aversion.com

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Opeth And Immortal To Release Vinyl Box Sets


German label Viva Hate Records has announced the release of limited edition, hand numbered OPETH And IMMORTAL vinyl wooden boxes.

The Opeth box is a 6xLP set of the following albums: The Orchid, Morningrise, My Arms Your Hearse. The wooden box will have the Opeth logo and album details printed/burned on it. The first 200 coloured versions contain an exclusive special Opeth shirt. This is due for release in January.

The Immortal box is a 6xLP set of the following albums: Diabolical Fullmoon, Pure Holocaust, Battles In The North, Blizzard Beasts,At The Heart Of Winter, Damned In Black. The wooden box will have the Immortal logo and album details printed/burned on it. The white vinyl version is limited to 100 pieces. The dark red vinyl version is limited to 200 pieces. Each will include a special shirt. This is due for release in March.

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The Jesus Lizard Reuniting In 2009

Seminal indie rock outfit the Jesus Lizard will play its first shows in 10 years in 2009, while Touch & Go will remaster and reissue its first four studio albums.

The original lineup of David Yow, Duane Denison, David Wm. Sims and Mac McNeilly will return to the stage May 9-10 at All Tomorrow's Parties' the Fans Strike Back in Minehead, England, which will also feature Devo, Spiritualized, the reunited Sleep and Young Marble Giants. The group will play "very limited" as-yet-unannounced dates in the months to follow, concluding with a November show in Chicago.

After splitting with Touch & Go in 1995, the band jumped to a major-label, Capitol, and released two more albums that sold appreciably less than its prior efforts. Its last show was in late March 1999.

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Concord Starts Ray Charles Reissue Program


Concord Records has announced that they have entered an agreement with the Ray Charles Foundation to begin releasing the singer's catalog, covering his work on the ABC and Tangerine labels. The program will include both physical and, for the first time on many titles, digital media.

The first reissue will be Charles' 1985 release The Spirit of Christmas. This year, it will be made available only as a digital release which began yesterday on iTunes. A physical copy will be out next year for the Christmas season.

Next, in March, will come a new 21-track retrospective containing many of Charles' great 60's hits (Georgia On My Mind, Hit the Road Jack, Unchain My Heart, etc.).

The balance of 2009 will see reissues of Modern Sounds in Country Western Music Volumes 1 & 2, The Genius Hits the Road, Genius + Soul = Jazz and Berlin, 1962. In addition, Starbucks will get an exclusive, Starbucks Opus Anthology, and a few digital-only exclusives.

John Burk, Concord Music Group exec VP of A&R stated, "Ray Charles is one of America's most iconic and treasured voices. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to once again present Ray's music with the reverence and respect it deserves and continue our dynamic partnership with Val Ervin and everyone at the Ray Charles Foundation."

Vinyl makes a collectable comeback

written by Toby Walne

Who said that records were finished? If you have a pile of old LPs gathering dust in the loft, you could be in the money. The most collectable records fetch thousands of pounds.

Jean-Paul Cuesta-Vayon, 42, who runs the Vinyl Junkies shop in Soho, central London, says: 'You can't beat records - they are not just more tactile with far better art work than CDs, they also boast far superior sound quality.

When CDs and then MP3 music formats came along they offered more convenience and seemed an exciting alternative. But as time has gone by many music lovers have come back to the more lasting appeal of vinyl.'

Jean-Paul says this attraction goes right across the music market - from jazz to rock 'n' roll, hip hop and rhythm and blues.

But though the appeal attracts all age groups, the nostalgia of those brought up on vinyl is also a key driving force. The blue-chip investments are the bands with international appeal that have stood the test of time.

At the head of the list is The Beatles. Other highly collectible groups include The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen and The Smiths.

Among the individual performers, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Cliff Richard, Elton John and Marc Bolan are the most sought after.

Industry magazine The Record Collector puts the first ten numbered copies of The Beatles' White Album - released 40 years ago this weekend - as top of the pops for rarity value.

It puts a conservative estimate of between £5,000 and £7,000 for one of the first ten copies, though investors might pay twice that amount.

Other rarities include a swearing Marc Bolan on a recording of Hard On Love plus a silk-padded sleeve of The Rolling Stones album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, both valued at £2,000.

Collectors will pay about £3,000 for the mono version of Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins, an experimental 1968 album by John Lennon & Yoko Ono with the couple nude on the cover, rarity rather than musical appeal pushing up the price.

Perhaps the most expensive record is the 7in single of That'll Be The Day, recorded by The Quarrymen in 1958 before three of them went on to form The Beatles. Sir Paul McCartney owns the only known copy, which is valued conservatively at £100,000.

Stephen Maycock, the rock 'n' roll memorabilia consultant for auction house Bonhams, says: 'It wasn't until the Eighties that vinyl really started to be viewed as collectible, when the supply dried up as the musical format was switched to CDs.'



Vinyl's back: Jean-Paul, pictured, says vinyl is making a resurgence and is a great investmentFirst pressings are usually the most valuable, as they were often produced in relatively small numbers before the record became a hit. Early demos and limited exports are also sought after among diehard collectors.

The record company and issue code on the disc and sleeve can help reveal the identity. Other considerations include whether it was a commercial release or promotional, recorded in stereo or mono, contained any freebies or has a picture sleeve.

As with all collectible items, Maycock says condition is vital. An LP in mint condition is worth twice a 'very good' example that has a few minor scuffs and surface scratches. Anything less is not usually considered as collectible - a badly scratched copy could fetch less than a tenth of the value.

Although Jean-Paul admits that recordings by the big names in music have accounted for some of the most impressive price rises in recent years, there is also a growing market for more obscure artists where cut-price gems can still be discovered.

'I have an early Seventies jazz record, The Latin Taste by Romano Mussolini, the youngest son of the wartime Italian dictator,' he says. 'It could be picked up for a few pounds a few years ago, but is now worth £600. Another rarity is Charlie Parker's In Sweden 1950 album, which is worth £1,000 because it's extremely rare.'

Bonhams has put a £600 estimate on a disc recorded in the late Sixties by Reg Dwight before he changed his name to Elton John. An early U2: Three 12in single from 1981 and signed by Bono has a valuation of £3,000. While internet trading has transformed the market, for many vinyl investors there is no substitute for the fun of rummaging through racks at specialist record shops or trade fairs.

Befriending the dealer at a secondhand record store can also prove invaluable. But traders will typically offer half the price you could get on eBay. An excellent source of information with details of shops and fairs is the Record Collector. The magazine publishes the industry bible, Rare Record Price Guide 2010. For American releases, investors should check out the books, Goldmine Record Album Price Guide and Goldmine Price Guide To 45RPM Records.

SOURCE: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk

The Beatles' White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute

Sales

The album was a major commercial success, spending a total of eight weeks at #1 in the UK (the first week being that of December 7, 1968), and nine weeks at #1 in the United States (the first week being that of December 28, 1968). Total US sales are estimated at over 9.5 million copies (19 million units). Excluding compilations, The Beatles has outsold all other Beatles album releases except Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band and Abbey Road, according to United World Chart.


Re-issues

Two re-issues in 1978 (one by Capitol Records, the other by Parlophone) saw the album pressed on white vinyl, completing the look of the "white" album. In 1985, EMI Electrola released a DMM (direct metal mastered) white vinyl pressing of the album in Germany, which was imported to the United States in large numbers. Another popular white vinyl pressing was manufactured in France. The 1978 Parlophone white vinyl export pressing and the German DMM pressing are widely considered the best-sounding versions of the album.[citation needed] This is due to the use of the famed Neumann lathe on the 1978 export pressing and the use of the DMM process on the 1985 pressing.

On January 7th, 1982, Mobile Fidelty Sound Lab released the album in a non-embossed unnumbered version of "The White Album" cover with the ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING banner at the top. Neither the poster nor portraits were included. The labels to the discs are white with primarily black text and the Capitol dome logo at three o'clock. The MFSL discs were made with Super Vinyl, a heavy and hard compound that that provides an extraordinary quiet playing surface. Although MFSL leased the album from Capitol and used the company's sub-master, the discs still sound superior to the standard British and American pressings. The discs were stored in "rice paper" static-free, dust-free inner sleeves enclosed in an off-white gatefold reinforced stiff board that fit into the custom fabricated album jacket.

In 1998, a 30th anniversary reissue of the album was released on a two-disc compact disc version in the United Kingdom. The packaging of this release is virtually identical to its vinyl counterpart. It has the same pure white gatefold cover, complete with the title "The BEATLES" in a slightly raised, embossed graphic at a slight angle. It also included the now-classic sequentially numbered serial number on the front of this cover, thus making this one a real limited edition. The interior of this cover features the song titles on the left-hand side, and the four black-and-white photos of the group members on the right. This version of the cover even accurately mimics the original British vinyl pressing from 1968, with the openings for the discs at the top rather than the sides. There are miniatures of the four full-colour glossy portrait photos included, as well as an exact replica of the poster with the photo collage on one side, and the album's complete song lyrics on the opposite side. The CDs are housed in black sleeves, which were also used for the original British album. This commemorative double CD album is housed in a clear plastic slipcase.

SOURCE: wikipedia

Beatles Music

http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps

White Album

http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog

The Beatles Glass Onion

Top Ten TV Theme Songs

Let's explore PasteMagazine.com's list of theme songs, this time see what made #3 on their list:

2. M*A*S*H - "Suicide Is Painless" by Johnny Mandel

M*A*S*H was unique in that it was a tragedy with a laugh track. Unlike its war-sitcom predecessor Hogan's Heroes, M*A*S*H was a black comedy pointing to the absurdity and horror of war. The humor was often of the gallows variety, and the theme song signaled bravery in the face of sadness. The devastating words were written by Robert Altman's 14-year-old son Mike but wisely left out of the TV version. It didn't need anything more than a haunting melody.



M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH (which was itself based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker). The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS. It follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War. M*A*S*H's title sequence featured an instrumental version of the song "Suicide Is Painless", which also appears in the original film. The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M*A*S*H Goes To Maine, failed. It is the most well-known version of the M*A*S*H works.

The series premiered on September 17, 1972, and ended February 28, 1983, with the finale becoming the most-watched television episode in U.S. television history with over 105 million viewers. It is widely considered one of the greatest shows in television history. The show is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations (mostly during the late night/early morning hours). The series spanned 251 episodes and lasted eleven seasons covering a three-year conflict.

Nielsen ratings
1972-73: #46
1973-74: #4 17.0 m
1974-75: #5 18.7 m
1975-76: #15 15.9 m
1976-77: #4 18.4 m
1977-78: #9 16.9 m
1978-79: #7 18.9 m
1979-80: #5 19.3 m
1980-81: #4 20.5 m
1981-82: #9 18.9 m
1982-83: #3 18.8 m

Starting on January 1, 2007, TV Land aired M*A*S*H from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. for one week in a marathon. According to a press release available at the Futon Critic, the marathon of M*A*S*H episodes and specials that aired during the first week of January drew "an average of 1.3 million total viewers and scored double-digit increases in demo rating and delivery." Additionally, the marathon helped TV Land rank in the top ten basic cable channels among the adults 25–54 demographic for the week. Ratings for specific episodes and specials are also included in the press release:

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen "– 1.3 million total viewers

Memories of M*A*S*H (20th Anniversary) – 1.5 million total viewers

30th Anniversary Reunion Special – 1.4 million total viewers.

M*A*S*H airs on TV Land and also airs four times a day, Monday through Friday on Hallmark Channel. The program also airs twice daily on ION Television (a terrestrial television network), as well as in syndication to local stations. Because of this, some viewers would get M*A*S*H on four channels, with two of them being their local stations.

interesting tidbits:

On Sesame Street, Big Bird's teddy bear is named Radar. This is in homage to Radar O'Reilly's teddy bear.

On an episode of Family Guy, a character remarks "When I fire rockets, I always like to think I'm shooting at Jamie Farr and Alan Alda. Take that, wise-cracking meatball surgeon!" In another episode, the characters are discussing one of their characters leaving the show dramatically, spoofing the scene when Radar announces Colonel Blake's death, with Brian playing Radar. Also, in yet another episode, the character of Stewie, while intoxicated, sings the first few words of "Suicide is Painless", the show's opening theme.

Gary Burghoff's left hand is slightly deformed, and he took great pains to hide or de-emphasize it during filming. He did this by always holding something (like a clipboard), or keeping that hand in his pocket.

Leslie Nielsen guest-starred as Col. Buzz Brighton. Because of his high casualty record, Hawkeye and Trapper try to send back to America by convincing him that he is insane.

Honestly, I was never a fan of the show and really never watched an episode in full. Different strokes for diffeent folks as they say.

Classic Rock Videos

Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe

This Date In Music History-November 27

Happy Thanksgiving to all and please enjoy this expanded holiday edition of “This Date In Music History!”

Birthdays:

Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin (1962)

Simple Minds ("Don't You Forget About Me") guitarist Charlie Burchill (1959)

Charlie Benante, Anthrax (1962)

They Are Missed:

Jimi Hendrix was born in 1942.

Eddie Rabbitt was born in 1944.

Barbara Acklin ("Love Makes A Woman") died of pneumonia in 1998.

Joe Jones, a musician-turned producer who sang the 1961 Billboard #3 hit "You Talk Too Much" and went on to become an independent music publisher and advocate for Black artists' rights, died on November 27, 2005. He was 79.

Kevin DuBrow, the gravelly voiced singer for the heavy metal group Quiet Riot was found dead in Las Vegas in 2007. He was 52.

History:

In 2001, Elvis Presley was inducted into The Gospel Association Hall Of Fame. Didn’t know there is such a thing.

Elvis' movie “Fun in Acapulco,” co-starring Ursula Andress, was released in the US in 1963. While some exterior scenes were filmed on location, Elvis' scenes were all shot in Hollywood. The King never set foot in Acapulco, Mexico in his life.

In 1965, hippie/writer Ken Kesey held the first of his public acid tests. Far out man (yes, they really did say that!)

Also in 1965, The Lovin' Spoonful's "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice" and The Vogues' "5 O'Clock World" entered the US record charts.

In 1969, The Rolling Stones played Madison Square Garden, a show that was recorded and released as “Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!” The Ike & Tina Turner Revue supported them. During their performance, Janis Joplin joined Tina Turner onstage to sing a duet.

Led Zeppelin IV entered the Billboard album chart at #36 in 1971. Jimmy Page remembered, "We all had a good laugh when the record went into the charts and they had to reproduce the symbols instead of a conventional title."

Capitol Records released the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" album in the U.S. in 1967.

Steppenwolf's first album, which included their biggest hits "Born to Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride,” was certified gold in 1968.

In 1970, George Harrison released his first post-Beatles album, "All Things Must Pass,” produced by Phil Spector and featuring Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Ringo Starr and Jim Gordon. The triple disc set would go on to be certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

In 2005, multimillionaire defense contractor (and father of a very spoiled daughter) David H. Brooks booked New York’s Rainbow Rooms and his daughter Elizabeth’s favorite acts for her ‘bat mitzvah’ coming-of-age celebration. The stars who appeared included 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. 50 Cent, who was paid $500,000 to appear performed only four songs, but he did manage to work in the lyric, "Go shorty, it's your bat miztvah, we gonna party like it's your bat mitzvah". The party cost an estimated $10 million, including the price of corporate jets to ferry the performers to and from the venue. And my parents got mad when I asked for a stereo….

Lionel Richie was No.1 in the US in 1982 with the cut “Truly.” Richie achieved a #1 hit each year from 1978-1986 as a writer, “Three Times A Lady,” “Still,” “Lady” (Kenny Rodgers), “Endless Love ”(Diana Ross), “All Night Long,” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me” and as co-writer of “We Are The World.”

The New Vaudeville Band were at #1 on the US singles chart in 1966 with “Winchester Cathedral” (it made No.4 in the UK).

The Beatles recorded their first BBC radio session in 1962 at the BBC Paris studio on Regent Street in London. They played “Twist and Shout,” “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” The tracks were aired on the BBC Light Program “Talent Spot.”


Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass went to #1 on the US album chart in 1965 with “Whipped Cream & Other Delights.” (A little known fact about the Whipped Cream cover is that the model was three months pregnant at the time the photo was taken)